£100 million project starts at Catalyst Bicester with David Lloyd sale and phase one construction
The first phase of new buildings at Catalyst Bicester, the £100 million new advanced manufacturing and technology business community and include a David Lloyd Health and Racquets Club in Bicester, Oxfordshire is to start following infrastructure and enabling works.
Once completed, Catalyst Bicester will total circa 300,000 sq ft (27,870 sq m) and provide workspace for up to 1,750 new jobs. The first four technology buildings will range in size from 10,000 sq ft to 22,000 sq ft and be ready for businesses to occupy them in early 2022.
The sale of land to David Lloyd has completed and construction of the new Health and Racquets Club, which will include a gym, indoor and outdoor swimming pools, racquets courts, café and restaurant is due to start in summer 2021.
Catalyst Bicester is to the town’s south, just off the A41 adjacent to the Bicester Avenue retail centre and the new Holiday Inn and under two miles from J9 M40.
Simon Parsons, Albion Land said: “We have started the project, our third major investment in Bicester, to deliver workspace, jobs and contribute to the local economy. Catalyst Bicester will provide a new style of development in response to demand from technology, advanced manufacturing and high-performance engineering companies and create many new jobs, while helping to reduce out-commuting from the town.
“The site enabling works are advanced and we have completed the four-acre plot sale to David Lloyd. They will undertake their own construction of the new Health Club to create an exciting amenity for both the town and future occupiers. Our focus now is to complete the highway works to ensure that the project is connected to the cycle, foot and bus network and to construct the first phase of technology buildings to respond to the high demand in the area from knowledge-based businesses.”
The site was allocated for knowledge and technology uses in Cherwell District Council’s adopted plan. Once completed, Catalyst Bicester will provide stand-alone hybrid technology buildings totalling approximately 300,000 sq ft (27,870 sq m) and a David Lloyd Club, within 25 acres of landscaped grounds and alongside an ecological wetland reserve. The new buildings will incorporate sustainable construction techniques and be rated by the globally recognised sustainability assessment method to be BREEAM “Very Good”.
Bruce Gardner, new openings director, David Lloyd Leisure added: “Our aim is to complete our new club in 2022 to offer the local community a range of premium family-friendly health, wellness and racquets facilities and a friendly club environment.”
The letting agents are Brown & Co, Colliers International and VSL.
For further information, please visit: catalystbicester.com
About Albion Land
Albion Land is a privately-owned commercial property developer and asset manager. Established in 1990, it is run by the original founders Simon Parsons and Kelvin Pearce with the ethos of collaboration and personal service running through every project. It works with local authorities, local communities, construction companies and businesses to unlock land to provide business space and investment opportunities. Albion Land is committed to developing a number of high-quality schemes in Bicester, recent and current projects total more than 1,000,000 sq ft.
Visit Albion Land’s website.
About David Lloyd Leisure Group
The David Lloyd Leisure Group has 123 clubs – 100 clubs in the UK and a further 23 clubs across Europe, comprising its two brands David Lloyd Clubs and Harbour Clubs (of which there are three – Chelsea, Notting Hill and Kensington). In February 2020, it acquired eight clubs from the Meridian Group in Germany. In March 2020 it announced it had exchanged contracts to acquire Geneva Country Club, its second club in the Geneva region.
It has over 660,000 members and employs around 8600 people. This includes an expert health and fitness team of over 2000 while it contracts the services of more than 680 tennis professionals.
David Lloyd Club’s racquets facilities are unparalleled with over 1080 tennis courts as well as over 400 badminton and squash courts. Additional facilities include health and beauty spas, club lounges with free internet access, crèches, nurseries and specialist sports shops.
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